Pyrrhia Divided
by LemonDrops334
Summary: Collaboration between SereneBird and I. The Pyrrhia you know has fallen, and a dystopian society has risen. The old rebellion leader must be found and brought back to power to save the continent. But some other dragons are striving to keep their government as is. Rated T for a bit of violence.
1. Prologue (Penny and Dawnriser)

**Serenebird and I have worked hard on this. This is both of our ideas combined. She writes as Dawnriser, and I as Penelope. We will switch of chapters, and I will tell you POV and who worked on it.** **Would love to hear some feedback!**

Penelope sat on a boulder by the pond with Percy, who was washing the clothes.

She was staring up at the white, fluffy clouds before she felt a splash, "Percy! This is the only dress you haven't ruined yet! Do you want to get in trouble?" she shrieked through giggles. She splashed him back, smiling in her light yellow dress, now with water in the fabric.

"Oh yeah, I'm in trouble. I thought it was just because you would fall in." he mocked smiling at her in a mischievous way, then continued his work.

Penny continued looking at the sky, when she saw a black dragon swoop overhead, causing yells and a slingshot fires. Penelope stood up, and shielded her eyes from the blaring sun.

She watched as the dark dragon tried to fly away from the fireballs, and roared at them. Percy grabbed Penny and forced her into the house.

"I wanna watch!" Penelope struggled against her brother's arm, but to no avail.

"It's not safe." Percy stated seriously. He was never stern, but ever since the death of their father and disappearance of their mother, Percy was in charge, only overlooked by their uncle.

It seemed their guardian found every opportunity to give Percy extra work, and didn't even try to disguise his hate of the 16 year old.

Penny ran over to the window, trying to keep the dragon in sight. Every movement the creature made, she felt the familiar tingle along her back and hands.

Their uncle bursted into their cottage, slingshot in hand, "Percy! Dad gummit! Where's the girl?" he yelled.

"Over there sir." Percy stiffened and pointed at Penelope, "I brought her in at first sighting." he looked down at the dirt floor.

The uncle then retorted angrily, followed by Percy's flat, submissive tone. Her uncle still pursued in his insults, and Percy soon raised his voice. They began a common fight, and usually it was over where Penelope should live.

 _That's it, he'll be mad, but I will stay out of harm's way_. Penny slowly approached the back door, and exited slowly and quietly.

She crept away from the house, and from behind she could hear shouts and yells. The sun was beginning to set, and Penny hastily made her way up to a hill that had a clear view of the action.

The black creature had been hit, but still continued to fight. It blasted catapults with fire, roaring all the while.

A spear was thrown, and hit the base of the dragon's wing, which earned a bellow louder than any roar. The dragon made a final swoop, before disappearing behind the walls of the city.

Men were celebrating their achievement, and then departed to their homes.

Penny started towards her house, but at the sound of heated fighting decided to stay out of it.

She walked over to the wall, and found the spot she remembered digging when she was little to escape the walls. She sighed, and disappeared outside the stone wall.

She walked along the grassy hillside, looking up at trees, taking in the beauty of the sunset.

She came to a small cave, Penny ran her fingers along the sides, sniffing at the smell of dust. This is new! She realized. The familiar twinge of adventure grabbed her and edged her into the cave.

All she saw was black, which was unusual because the cave wasn't deep enough to be as dark as it was.

Suddenly, the black trembled, and stars shone. She looked up in fear, learning what it was.

A black NightWing stood on it's hind legs and opened it's wings. The bright eyes narrowed into slits and the huge beast hissed and lunged towards her

* * *

She ripped the spear out of the base of her wing, hissing in pain. If there was one thing that Dawnriser didn't expect, then it wasn't flying over a scavenger settlement and having the scavengers trying to shoot her down. Didn't they know that she could easily crush them if she wanted to? She would've just left them alone if they didn't start shooting at her.

So then why couldn't she defeat them? They were so tiny, so small. She should've been able to stomp on them the moment they decided to attack her, but that didn't happen. _It's because you're tired,_ the NightWing told herself. _They decided to get you when you were tired. Yeah, that's it. They wouldn't have been able to shoot me down if I was more energetic_.

She'll have to get them next time, then.

All of a sudden, she heard little footsteps entering the cave. Uttering profanity under her breath, Dawnriser raised her head to see who was intruding. And right there, she saw a scavenger.

She sprang to her talons at once and rose to her hind legs, opening her wings. _What was it doing here?_

Dawnriser sprang toward the scavenger, baring her teeth in anger. She landed in front of it, slamming both of her talons to either side of the scavenger. Her black tail lashed along the ground. _Look intimidating,_ she thought _. It'll leave you alone if you scare it enough._

Should she try speaking to it? It sounded like a bit of a ridiculous idea, since she was pretty sure that the scavenger wouldn't understand her anyway. But then again, maybe she should just give it a try. Whatever came out of her mouth would probably scare the scavenger no matter what.

Where did it come from anyway? Did it not know better than to suddenly barge into a cave?Dawnriser had heard rumors, of course, but she didn't expect scavengers to be this stupid. But here one was, standing right in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Dawnriser snarled, narrowing her amber eyes at it. She winced at the pain at her wing. As small as they were, scavengers really do know how to make it hurt. She regarded it with suspicion. She didn't think that it would be able to hurt her.

But then again, she learned that she couldn't take any chances.

Then she heard the scavenger let out a small squeak and it raised its arms. Dawnriser blinked at it. "What are you doing?" she muttered.

The scavenger looked at her and it shakily bent over, tracing one claw over the sandy floor of the cave. Dawnriser watched it in growing interest and curiosity. It was trying to tell her something, but surely it wasn't intelligent enough to do so, was it?

Dawnriser's answer came to her soon enough as soon as the scavenger was finished with its message. It felt as if a stone dropped in her stomach as she realized that it said " _Wait_."

 **Well, there it is! There might be quite a bit of time before chapter 1!**


	2. Chapter 1 (Penny)

**What? No feedback?** **This is Penelope's view, I wrote this chapter.**

Penny looked at the dragon, whose face looked surprised. She didn't even know what she wrote in the sand, just instinct. The dragon growled and roared.

Penelope cocked her head, confused. The dragon bent and dragged a wicked talon in the dirt. Penny knelt towards the message.

 _What or who are you? Where did you learn how to write like that?_

Penelope pondered her answer, then heard her brother's whistle.

 _I must_ _go, please stay here! I will bring you food_.

Penny didn't think she should have written the last part, as it might have insulted the dragon, but she wanted to see it more.

"Coming!" She yelled to Percy. She came up the hill and ducked into their backyard.

"Penelope! You know that you can't leave the garden while uncle is here! You're lucky he left after giving me good reason to make you live with him!" Percy was almost at a yell.

Penny could see tear trails in his cheeks, and his unclenched fists held fingernail marks on his palms.

She looked down "Sorry. I don't like the two of you fighting, so I left. You aren't gonna take me to Uncle's, are you?" Penny looked at Percy, hope clear in her eyes.

Percy's form relaxed a bit, and he responded in a soft voice, "Of course not. I just worry for you." he looked away, then regained his poise, "Let's go back inside and get ready for dinner."

Penny followed him into the house, and he began peeling potatoes as she sliced carrots for soup.

She made sure Percy wasn't looking as she pushed carrots into her pockets. Penelope didn't think the dragon was a vegetarian, but she promised food.

After a quiet dinner with Percy, she ran off. Being the cool brother he was, Percy knew that Penny would come home before the moon was too high.

She approached the cave, and stepped inside. There it was, a dragon. Penelope could hardly believe her eyes. It looked at her and growled deep in it's throat. _Still suspicious, I wonder why._ Penny thought to herself as she approached the huge creature.

She dug a small hole and put the carrots into the dip. The dragon sniffed at them, and stuck her claw into one. Once she sampled it, she finished of the slices.

Penny began drawing in the dirt, absorbed in thought. Why did this dragon come here? What was it's purpose? Didn't it know better not to fly over the castle?

She didn't understand why the dragon didn't attack her, or why it didn't leave. Penelope felt a nudge and she looked over at the creature. It pointed down towards her trail in the dirt, and started tracing it's own path.

She read as the dragon wrote,

 _How do you write like that? What is your name?_

Penny pondered her response, _How_ do _I know how to write?_ She started with her name, because that was an easy answer. Penelope then wrote that she didn't know how she wrote like this.

The dragon then wiped the dirt clean and began writing again,

 _I am Dawnriser, a Nightwing. Maybe you are a dragon in disguise?_

Penny sat, confused. She had heard stories, of course, of magic and wizards that could ride dragons. But her? A peasant that lived on the edge of the village, unknown to everyone except her brother and crazy uncle. She picked at the old band of leather around her ankle.

Dawnriser stared at it, then wrote

 _What is that? How did you get it?_

Penelope traced the story of her relative that she couldn't really remember, and the friendship bracelets that they made.

W _hy do you still wear it if it is so old and you don't know why_ Dawnriser questioned.

 _I don't know_. Penny looked at the band, confused _, I guess it just became a part of me, and I never had anything sharp enough to cut it._

She then poked her head outside, and could see the moon rising over the oak trees. It was time to go. She wrote her goodbyes to Dawnriser, again promising to bring apple slices, and she started up the moonlit hill, twilight giving the world an unearthly, magical feel.

She crept upstairs, where she was greeted with warm light.

"Penelope, you're back." Percy looked up at her, dark circles under his eyes.

"Why are you still up?" Penny looked at him, concerned.

"Uncle told me to." Percy looked away from her, "Night." he leaned over to his candle and smothered it. Percy's dark form crept into his bed and he fell asleep immediately.

Penny sighed and put herself to bed.

LINE

She woke up to the sun. Penny ran downstairs, remembering the dragon.

She stopped when she saw Percy. He was at the table, head drooped and shoulders slumped.

"Percy, what are you-" She stopped as he looked up at her.

"Help…" Percy fell out of the chair, fainting.

Penelope rushed over to him, "Percy! Should I get uncle? Or the doctor?"

"Doctor….bring me there…" he whispered faintly, his face as white as a ghost.

Penny rushed to their wagon and hitched up their old donkey. She pushed and pulled her limp brother towards the cart. He tried to help get himself inside, and after he was in, Penelope jumped into the driver's chair.

She didn't know how to drive, but the doctor was only down the road. Penny yanked on the reins, and she successfully brought the cart in front of the cottage and hearing the noise, a stout man opened the door.

"What's happened?" The doctor rushed over to the cart, "Percy?" His brows creased with worry, "Peter, Jane, Get out here!"

His children came out, each about 16. They pulled Percy out of the cart and rushed him inside. The doctor approached Penelope, "Don't be afraid dear, he'll be fine. Until then, can you take care of yourself? We will take care of the donkey"

Penny nodded, and the doctor left. Penny ran home and grabbed leftovers and an apple. She hoped the dragon would be of some comfort.

She entered the cave and the dragon looked over at her, and Penny dropped the food.

Penelope reached down,

 _My brother is in the doctors, can I sleep here with you?_

Dawnriser reached her talon in the dirt

 _If you don't take up much space_.

Penny, without thinking, threw her arms around Dawnriser's black neck and sobbed.

 **If you like it then you should tell the author, Wa oh oh oh...**


	3. Chapter 2 (Dawnriser)

**So, this is Serene's Chapter, from the POV of Dawnriser the Nightwing. And HOLY GOODNESS SHE WROTE THIS FAST! Kudos to her for giving me this opportunity and being soo reliable!**

Dawnriser wasn't sure about what to do with this strange scavenger. She knew that Penelope was upset, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

 _Stop that_ , she thought irritably to herself. Why was she feeling sorry for a measly scavenger? Whatever happened to Penelope did not (and probably would never) have any effect on what happened to Dawnriser. _You don't care about her. You don't, you don't, you don't._

But then again, Penelope _did_ tell her that her brother was with the doctors, and judging by her actions, Dawnriser assumed that he must be in pretty bad condition. And considering her own experiences, Dawnriser knew exactly what Penelope must be feeling.

The image of a small NightWing dragonet flashed through her mind. He looked up at her with wide, shiny eyes and she could almost hear him talking to her with that bubbly little voice of his…

And then she remembered him lying down on a prickly nest in her home and she shivered as she remembered the sight of his ribs sticking through his chest as he coughed relentlessly night after night until he suffered no more.

He was long gone now, and now this crying scavenger's brother might suffer the same fate.

Dawnriser let out a sigh. She supposed that she can't deny Penelope comfort if she needed it, but Dawnriser was hoping that she would at least be gone by the next day. Dawnriser needed somewhere to go, after all. She was pretty sure that she would be able to travel to her destination.

 _Hinerium._ That was the capital of the Highborn region, and if Dawnriser was to believe the stories of it, then she was heading off to a city of great riches. It was going to look so much more grand and fantastic than the swampy, crowded town that she grew up in.

Abjectians like her weren't often invited to Hinerium (or anywhere near Highborn territory, that is), but the moment that she saw the Highborn messenger arrive in her town in all his privileged glory, she knew that something important was to come.

And she was right. The messenger said that the Highborns were in need of more soldiers for their armies and they were now willing to take Abjectian volunteers. In return for volunteering, the volunteer and their family would be rewarded with food and other benefits.

Many Abjectians were wary of this sudden message. Why would do the Highborns need to recruit more dragons for their army if they were safe where they were? They never needed to fight any wars (at least in Dawnriser's lifetime) and Dawnriser was also quite sure that the Highborns were already as safe as they were.

But still...if the opportunity was real, then she had to take it and see for herself. If it turned out to be a genuine offer and she missed it, then she would never forgive herself. She had her mother and father depending on her now and she couldn't fail them. She'd rather die than fail them.

If she was correct, then Hinerium should be located right at the border between the Sky Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sand. Or at least, what remained of them.

She knew that the old dragon kingdoms existed a long time ago, but became no more after some kind of terrible war broke out between each and every one of the kingdoms. The details remained blurry in her head, but she knew that the war resulted in the kingdoms destroying themselves.

There were a couple of years of fighting and chaos until finally, a group of dragons managed to unite them once again. Well, not all of them, really.

They separated all of the dragons into two separate groups: Highborn and Abjectian. Highborn territory started right at the Diamond Spray Delta and kept going west, claiming all of the land as they went. Abjectians were left the swamps, rainforest, beaches, and ocean to work with. The 'good' dragons were sorted into the Highborn category, while the 'bad' dragons (dragons with criminal records, diseases, weak bodies, whatever you can think of) were sorted into the Abjectian category.

Highborns were given more privilege. Their cities were richer and food was almost always handed on a platter to them. Her stomach growled as she thought about the rich food that they could be eating while she and the rest of her family sustained themselves on scrawny pieces of flesh.

The town that Dawnriser grew up in was overly crowded and uncomfortable. The town was located close to the dreary marshlands, and the sky always seemed to be a depressing shade of gray. If you thought about it, then the sky certainly matched the mood of the town's residents. Dawnriser would just take a look around and it was guaranteed that she would see a miserable dragon.

Death rates were quite high, especially in the young dragons. To Dawnriser, whether a dragon died of disease or starvation didn't matter. They were dead likely because of their environment, and that was the end of it. She could've ended up in a shallow pit in the ground if she didn't work so hard to make sure that she and her family survived.

Even if she already failed one member of her family, she wasn't ready to let her mother and father die was well.

She still had two more days left until she could reach Hinerium and meet up with the other willing recruits. If she could go by the next few hours, then she could reach it.

But for now, she had to comfort an upset scavenger.

 **Whatcha think? Now you know more about the world we-I mean, _they_ live in. **


	4. Chapter 3 (Penelope and someone else)

**Back again! From Penny's POV to someone else's... You'll see!**

Penny, after realizing what she did, stepped away from Dawnriser, who seemed lost in thought. She mumbled sorries and reached into the sand,

 _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-_

Dawnriser cut her writing short with a claw.

 _It's fine. Go. Come back at sunset._

Penny nodded and left.

ANOTHER

Sunset seemed to come quickly, and Penny rushed to Dawnriser, "I'm sorry. I didn't-" She realized that Dawnriser couldn't understand.

She sighed and slumped to the ground. Dawnriser grumbled and set her head on the sand. Penny reached toward the ground,

 _So where do you live? And why did you fly over the castle. People were really scared._

Dawnriser answered,

 _Neither of those are any of your business, and what are people?_

Penny flared with annoyance, but quickly regained her demeanor,

 _People are humans, like me, but more than one. Multiple persons._

Dawnriser looked slightly surprised before answering,

 _Us dragons always called you Scavengers, not people or a person. I guess we never really thought or cares about what you called yourselves._

Penelope smiled,

 _Funny how dragons are called the same, but we are not. What is the world called?_

 _Pyrrhia, what about you?_

 _We call it Realm_.

They continued this small talk until late, and when the moon was high, Dawnriser got up and went outside.

Penelope grabbed her shoulder, and Dawnriser shook her off.

She turned,

 _I need to hunt, I'm starving. You can stay if you want._

Penelope pondered her options, _Should I go out at night? With a dragon?_ She scolded herself, it was Dawnriser, if she was gonna eat her, she would've done it ages ago.

She nodded and followed the black dragon out into the night.

Penny looked up at the stars, which shone down like watchful eyes. Her father, before he died, used to tell her stories with the stars, One of her favorites were:

 _Once upon a time, there was a wizard, who loved the princess very much. And her father knew that._

 _When the girl became old enough to marry, a dragon snatched her up and took her away._ _The dragon brought her to the wizard, who was a gentleman and he explained that the dragon was her father._

Back when Penelope was little, she was terrified of dragons, so this story was more of a horror than a fairytale

Her father always left her on a cliffhanger so she would go back to bed every night. However, that was the night before he disappeared, never to return. Now she just had to wonder what group of stars that represented.

As she came back to reality, Penny saw Dawnriser looking at her with a look that clearly said, _Scavengers are weird_

She smiled awkwardly at Dawnriser, and they both left into the night.

Penelope settled on the lush grass as she watched Dawnriser spread her starry wings, seeming to disappear.

The dragon raised her wings and beat them hard, which brought her into the sky. She glided along the wind currents, all that Penny could see clearly of her were her stark-white horns, which shone in the moonlight.

Penny could almost feel the cool, crisp air underneath Dawnriser's wings. She sighed. Why couldn't humans fly?

Almost immediately she heard her brother's voice in her mind, answering in his usual, goofy voice, _Then we would be as dumb and ruthless as dragons_.

Penny buried her head in her hands. The memory of Percy was clear in her mind and stung like a hot poker. She looked back up at Dawnriser, who was gliding back to her with something in her claws.

She straightened up, unwilling to show how upset and how hurt she was about her brother's predicament.

Penny stood up to meet Dawnriser when she heard banging from within the cobblestone walls.

Her heart dropped into her feet when she realized who it was.

She rushed up into the house, where she came face to face with her uncle.

"Penelope! What were you doing?" Her uncle screeched at her, his fists above his head, ready to strike.

She looked submissively down, "Nothing uncle. I was out in the garden."

He growled and smacked her to the ground, "Why didn't you get me when your brother went to the hospital?"

Penny staggered on to her knees, touching her burning cheek, "I thought you were busy, so I didn't bother you."

"Well, now you are coming home with me." he grabbed her arm forcibly, dragging her behind him.

"No!" She screamed, struggling to get away.

His eyes shone fear for a moment, causing his grip to loosen. Penny saw this, and quickly wrestled her arm from him.

In her effort to get away, her fingers snagged on a small rope bracelet with a small white crystal. She ripped it off in a defiance and hatred.

He stepped back from her, his skin bulging, clothes ripping. Penny stumbled back in horror.

A bright, muscular dragon stood in the place of her uncle. It smiled at her and grumbled.

All of a sudden, Dawnriser landed behind her, growling and swiping at the bright white dragon.

They growled and hissed at each other, but before the intruder could come any closer, Dawnriser grabbed Penny in her talons and took off.

Penelope screamed as cold air whipped her hair back. Though Penny didn't know flying, she knew they were going fast. The ground rushed under them, Dawnriser's wing beats pushing them on.

Soon the Nightwing's breathing became rough and ragged, and her hold on Penny loosened.

Penelope slipped, and Dawnriser struggled to catch her and stay in the air. As Penny fell, screaming as loud as she could, Dawnriser's claw caught on her leather band, slicing it in two.

Now in freefall, Penny watched as the autumn leaves of trees below reached out to grasp her with wicked fingers.

She heard Dawnriser shout, and everything went black.

Penelope uncovered her eyes. Dawnriser was looking at her as if she sprouted horns. She looked around, soon realizing she was in the sky.

She looked down at her fingers. Well, at least where her fingers used to be. Memories came rushing back as she looked at the purple-black talons, _The_ _Rebellion_!

She stopped flapping her wings, and she fell to the ground, being scratched by branches on the way down.

"D-Dawnriser? I-I don't think I'm Penelope anymore."

 **BUM BUM BAAA!!!**


	5. Chapter 4 (Dawnriser)

**Now, for what you all have been waiting for: Dawnriser's POV by Serenebird!**

Dawnriser flew down to the new dragon and she stared at her. _Who is she?_ Dawnriser wondered. She recognized Penelope's (should she even call her that anymore?) new form to be a NightWing, but just...how? How could she have transformed from a scavenger to a NightWing like that?

Soon after those thoughts came she realized that she could understand her now. At least it was one thing that was understandable now that Penelope was a NightWing now. But that still didn't make up for what a mystery the rest of this was.

"Okay, first of all, who are you?" Dawnriser demanded. "You clearly aren't a scavenger...person...whatever. I just want to know who you are. Or who you really are." She narrowed her eyes at her.

"I'm...Penny?" the NightWing replied. She met Dawnriser's cold gray gaze with hers. She faltered slightly and looked back down at her talons. A cloud of confusion shrouded her eyes. "No, no. I'm Treasure."

 _Who in their right mind names their dragonet Treasure of all things?_ thought Dawnriser, but she quickly shook off the thought. That wasn't important right now.

"How were you able to make yourself look like a scavenger?" Dawnriser questioned. She tried to think up of an answer of her own. There was no way that that could have happened, unless…

"Do you have magic?" Dawnriser quickly said before Treasure could answer. "Animus magic, specifically?" She only heard stories about animus dragons and what they could do with their power, but she was almost certain that Treasure should have to be affected by some kind of magic to look so much like a scavenger.

"Well, n-no!" Treasure said. "I don't have any magic. But...look, I don't really even know what happened. All I remember was the...the Rebellion." Her eyes widened. "I need to get—"

"What?" Dawnriser said sharply. "You are not leaving. And what about the Rebellion? Didn't that end a long time ago?"

Treasure froze.

"Shocking, I know," Dawnriser said drily. "A ragtag group of rebels were crushed by Highborn forces. Who could ever see that happening?"

She tried to remember as much as she could about the Rebellion. She was a year old when she first learned about them and she had admired them for their bravery in standing up against the Highborns and challenging them. She admired them for being courageous enough to encourage others to join them in their revolution.

But looking back at it now, it became more and more clear that what they had done wasn't brave or courageous. It was foolish. And there was no doubt in her mind that some of them who actually had hope in the Rebellion were hoping that by supporting it, they would push their own agenda and gain some power in the end.

Dawnriser was wise enough to know that not even the dragons who claimed to be fighting for equality were trustworthy. They probably didn't even care one bit for the Abjectians who genuinely looked up to them for daring to challenge the system.

 _Well the Rebellion did some good_ , she thought. She remembered hearing that after the failed Rebellion, Highborn control over the Abjectians were even stricter than it was before. Even if only slightly, Dawnriser's life could have been easier if the Rebellion never happened in the first place.

And maybe Valiant wouldn't have died.

Her chest started to hurt with longing for her younger brother. She was five when she lost him and he was three when he died, and even eleven years later after his death she still couldn't stop a feeling of emptiness washing over her every time she thought about him.

 _But he's gone now_ , she reminded herself. And as much as she hated to admit it to herself, that was a fact. He died eleven years ago and he wasn't going to come back. Thinking about him like this wasn't going to help her and her parents survive.

She pushed back her memories of the young dragonet. And thinking about him now isn't going to help me find answers.

"The Rebellion can't be gone," said Treasure. She rubbed her talons against her forehead, closing her eyes. "I know they aren't."

"Oh, yes," Dawnriser snorted. She rolled her eyes at her. "And I would sure like to know how you're so certain of that."

The other NightWing sighed and removed her talons from her head. She opened her eyes and met Dawnriser's gaze and said, "I just know."

"Wonderful," Dawnriser said flatly. "That was a spectacular answer. It makes me want to know which school for two-year-old dragonets you went to in order to learn how to come up with such a convincing response."

Treasure narrowed her eyes slightly. She opened her mouth but Dawnriser picked up the sound of distant voices. Treasure's mouth snapped shut and her eyes widened.

"Whatever you were about to say, I'm sure it's nice, but I think it's time to go," Dawnriser said. "Do you remember how to fly, at least?" She knew that if they went now while they still had the cover of darkness to their advantage, then they might be able to escape.

Treasure answered by spreading her wings and lifting off.

 _Okay, guess she does_. Dawnriser looked behind her once before flying after her.

 **Yeah, so, that was the story, I think we are doing great, what do you guys think?**


	6. Chapter 6 (Treasure)

**Treasure's POV written by yours truly!**

Treasure flew forward, heading towards an unknown area, and she was thoroughly confused.

They flew in silence, before Treasure spoke, "Where are we going?"

Dawnriser snorted, "Do you know anything? We are headed towards the back of the Person-I mean, Scavenger Den. I checked it out. Just try to keep your head on." she growled sarcastically.

Treasure didn't understand, Why, what? Where-. She was cut off by a flurry of memories. Dragons, Sandwings, Icewings, Mudwings. All roaring in unison as they faced other dragons.

The vision snapped as Dawnriser shoved her with a wing, "Pyrrhia to Nightwing, Pyrrhia to Nightwing! Wake up, we are almost there."

Treasure carefully landed on a stony outcropping, and below them was the crashing waves of the ocean.

Wait, I've seen that before. Something twinged in the back of her mind like a forgotten melody. Melody… The face of a Nightwing-Sandwing hybrid came into mind.

She shook her head and looked at Dawnriser, who returned the stare, "What do you need?" she growled.

"I-I have soo many questions. Are the tribes back? I swear, we were winning, rights of Abjectian were made…" she trailed off, glancing at her talons.

Dawnriser snorted, "No. Again, you got crushed by the army, and we were given less materials to live off of"

Treasure clutched her head, "That doesn't seem to fit-" She for another flash, this time of a dragon as bright as the moon bearing down on her and wrapping something around her neck. It was cold, and dug into her skin. He dragged her off down, deep below, where there were other dragons in twisted metal bars, calling out to her. She knew it wasn't right, she knew that something must be done. Cages. The word of the prisons came as a dark whisper, seeming to curl around her brain like dark smoke.

"Are you gonna keep doing this?" Dawnriser's sneering voice woke her from the waking nightmare.

"W-What am I doing?" Treasure stammered once again, the mental turmoil almost too much to bear.

"Passing out, murmuring, sobbing, and growling. It's getting on my nerves." Dawnriser turned away from her.

Treasure growled deep in her throat, tired of Dawnriser incessant rudness, "You know what, you have no idea what confusion I am struggling with. Where you trapped in a Scavenger body for 10 years? Did you watch hundreds of dragons die in front of you because of your idea? No! Yeah, I can tell that life of an Abjectian is not good for you, but that is no reason for being so rude to the one Scavenger that cared. What happened to the Dawnriser that let me hug them? What happened to the Dawnriser that was gonna let me stay with her while Eider slowly died as a lowly Scavenger, succumbing to their dumb plague?" Treasure yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Then, Treasure realized she said something of her past, "What did I say? WHAT DID I SAY? Whose name? Eipher? Eiren? Who was it?" she shouted before stalking off towards their cliff and staring out into the sea.

Dawnriser stood behind her, seeming frozen with surprise.

Treasure crouched on the narrow stone, and watched as the wave crashed against the rocky shore below.

 _Why can't I remember anything?_ She thought to herself, feeling like half a dragon.

Treasure took off into the night, watching her black wings disappear. She remembered watching from an outside view the wonder of dragon wings, and the beauty of their form.

She sighed _, Where am I supposed to go from here?_

The Percy voice once again sounded, _Well, flying around isn't gonna do any good_.

Treasure angled her wings to circle back to Dawnriser. Who did this to her? Who would take away her memories? Unl _ess it had to do with the Rebellion_.

A surge of memories binded Treasure's mind. Instead of pictures, she received surges of emotion. Darkness enveloped her eyes and acted as a blindfold to where she was going. She couldn't feel her wings, much the less anything else in her body.

Fear dug into her sides, washing over her in crashing waves. This was not just because of her surroundings, but memories of this darkness.

Soon Treasure became aware of tears running down her cheeks. Then they were wiped away with a warm talon, and the blindfold lifted to reveal a Sandwing-Nightwing hybrid with warm eyes.

"What are you doing here little one?" she smiled, pulling the rest of the cloth around her eyes off, "Come inside, your eyes are so swollen."

She followed this nice dragon inside a mud house, cautiously optimistic.

"I know what happened to you. But for right now, its more important to get you taken care of." the hybrid turned towards a fire, "My name is Melody, what's yours?"

Treasure found herself looking down at her small talons. Melody continued, "I don't know where you came from, but I have a hunch it's the Base. That terrible place forces dragonets to obey. Maybe you disobeyed their rules, or saw something, and thats why they binded your eyes. You have scratches all over you. Good thing I have a bed made up just for lost travellers. I just hope the Highborns don't find you." Melody approached little Treasure and wiped dirt off her cheek, "You'll be safe here."

And with those last words, the vision disappeared. Treasure shook her head, looking around. The ocean was everywhere, and Treasure's wings were tired from holding her in the air.

She rubbed her eyes, finding them surprisingly damp. What happened to her? She flew in circles above the ocean, trying to find the landmass.

"No. No no no!" she screamed, frightened that she would soon drown.

She suddenly saw a grey outjut of land. Frantic, she flew towards it, almost in tears from relief.

She settled down on the cliff, not seeing Dawnriser. She flopped into the stone, and fell asleep immediately.

 **Okay, I'm sorry about making it such an emotional war, but I guess... well... she's been through a LOT. And you know that feeling, that you know you are forgetting something important, but you don't know what? Increase that by 10, and you will see how she feels. Thanks for reading!!**


	7. Chapter 7 (Dawnriser)

**Dawnriser POV by Serenebird!!**

Dawnriser watched in incredulity as Treasure flew toward the gray land. What was that all about? she wondered as she flew down toward her. She landed on the space next to the other NightWing and she looked down at Treasure's sleeping form.

She looked so vulnerable. Dawnriser frowned and she laid down right next to her, putting one wing over her. Come on, she thought irritably. You need to get going. You have somewhere to go.

But should she go to Hinerium now?

Well, you did come all this way, she reminded herself. So why shouldn't she just leave Treasure and go her own way? She didn't even care about the Rebellion, unlike Treasure.

Because that would be just wrong, she answered herself. Dawnriser knew what it felt like to be alone and to fend for yourself. Even if she did only know Treasure for a short while, she knew that she needed to at least stay by her side until she knew that Treasure would be capable of taking care of herself.

It was probably too late to go to Hinerium anyway. For now, Dawnriser knew that she should stay with Treasure. For how long? She didn't know, but she understood that it was probably going to be more than one day. Best case scenario would be at least a week before they finally split and go their own ways.

Dawnriser sighed and lowered her head onto her talons. She blinked wearily as so many thoughts rushed into her head. Why did Treasure spend that much time as a scavenger? Dawnriser believed that animus magic had something to do with it, because what else could cause such a drastic transformation?

But then who would've enchanted her to turn into a scavenger? The NightWing didn't know anyone who had animus magic and she certainly never expected to have the chance to meet someone who did. The idea of it made her feel trepidatious.

If her theory was correct, then there was an animus dragon involved, but they were in no way friendly. Treasure didn't seem very threatening at all to Dawnriser, so whoever turned her into such a small creature probably wouldn't hesitate to do the same to anyone else.

She remembered that Treasure mentioned an Eider. Eider was a kind of bird from what she knew. Seaduck, actually. So perhaps he was a SeaWing or a SkyWing.

Wasn't Eider Treasure's brother or something? She said that he succumbed to the plague as a scavenger, so if her brother was with the doctors that night, then it would make sense that Eider would be her brother. At least as a scavenger, really.

Shock jolted through Dawnriser's body as she realized that if Eider died as a scavenger and Treasure wasn't the only dragon turned into one, then there could be many more who could have shared the same fate. Could they have been part of the group who shot at her wing before?

Whatever it meant, something happened. And something was probably happening right now judging by everything else that occurred. Maybe someone was out for Treasure and they wouldn't be satisfied until they saw her dead. Was that why that IceWing attacked them?

A wave of protectiveness suddenly washed over Dawnriser. Even if she did get on her nerves sometimes, Dawnriser would never let her get hurt. As far as she knew, Treasure was innocent and did not deserve to be hunted down and killed by who Dawnriser assumed to be some low-life criminals.

She lifted her head and looked around at her surroundings. She pricked her ears as well. To her relief, there didn't seem to be any sign of an attacker. But still, she had to keep watch until Treasure woke up.

It was the decent thing to do.

Hours passed before Dawnriser finally felt the other NightWing stir. She removed her wing from over Treasure's back and folded it against her side. She watched as Treasure blinked her eyes open and looked up at Dawnriser.

"I...what?" Treasure murmured. Her voice was quiet as she spoke. "What happened?" she asked. Treasure got up onto her feet and Dawnriser rose up soon after her.

"You fell asleep," Dawnriser answered simply. "You know that I couldn't have left you behind like that, right? You'd be easy pickings for any dragon who came by."

Treasure blinked at her.

Dawnriser sighed. "Alright," she said. "Are you going to come with me or not?"

"Where are we going?" Treasure asked. She clawed nervously at the ground below her and Dawnriser wondered if she made her nervous.

She felt annoyance at the possibility of it. She acknowledged the fact that she wasn't the friendliest dragon around, but it wasn't as if she was suddenly going to pull out a knife and stab her or set her face on fire. No, she would only do that to the dragons who actually did something to deserve it.

"Anywhere that isn't dangerous," Dawnriser answered. The further they could get away from danger, then the better it would be. With no dragon to attack them, then their lives would certainly be made a whole lot easier. Well, as easy as it could get, really. She knew from experience that there was always going to be a challenge in something.

She thought curiously as to where that IceWing could be and if he would come back with any more dragons. If he was, then they better get their tails moving fast before he caught up with them. Dawnriser wasn't in the mood to fight him. But if there really was no choice...

The dragoness tilted her head at Treasure with a look that hopefully said _Are you going or not?_ Thankfully, the other NightWing seemed to get the idea, as Treasure spread her wings and lifted off into the sky.

Dawnriser looked up at her. She felt really grateful that Treasure remembered how to fly, or else lugging her around would be a real pain. She turned her gaze back toward the crashing ocean.

And then she headed off into the sky to join Treasure.

 **I hope you all are enjoying!**


	8. Chapter 8 (Treasure)

**Treasure's POV written by yours truly!**

Still confused as ever, Treasure flew over the rocky mountains. Dawnriser was close on her tail, but Treasure didn't really know where is was going.

She slowed down to be next to Dawnriser, "Umm… Where are we going?"

Dawnriser looked down her snout, "There is probably a cave in the mountains, and we need to hide. The farther we get from that Icewing, the better."

Treasure nodded, and looked down at the mountains. She then looked back at Dawnriser, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I'm just so confused and-"

Dawnriser cut her off, "It's fine."

Treasure gulped and bowed her head.

They flew around the granite cliffs, and finally landed at a small ravine in old Skywing Territory. The cave mouth was large, and Treasure found a stick jammed into the rock.

Curious, she jiggled it, and the large boulder door moved away and opened to a fairly large cave.

She looked over at Dawnriser, who was also staring at the rock in confusion, her face still creased in the usual frown.

They walked in, and it smelled of ancient dragonfire and the sound of rushing water. Dawnriser began to pace the opening, determined to find out the mysterious inner workings.

Treasure began looking around, following the caves, finding a pile of burnt paper, and sleeping hollows.

An underwater river gurgled nearby, the water clear and cold.

Treasure's eyes widened, and she yelled to Dawnriser, "I know this place! This is the underground cave the Dragonets of Destiny lived in!"

Then, another flash.

 _Melody, the hybrid, was in front of her, humming as she washed the bandages that were used for Treasure's eyes._

 _Curious, she opened her mouth, but all that came out was a croak._

 _Melody looked over at her with a mixed face of happiness and pity._

 _"You can't sing? You poor little treasure!" she smiled and put her starry wing over her._

 _Melody began, "The dragonets are coming! They're coming to save the day! They're coming to fight, for they know what's right, The dragonets, hooray!"_

 _She giggled, waving her head to Melody's beautiful voice._

 _"You are such a little treasure!" Melody giggled herself, holding Treasure closer._

The vision ended, and Treasure found tear tracks down her cheeks.

Dawnriser entered and saw her, "Another flashback?"

Treasure nodded and cleared her throat, "Have you read the Legend of the Dragonets of Destiny?"

Dawnriser's face seemed to sift through a series of emotions before landing on a normal straight-faced frown, "No. Where I grew up we didn't get many scrolls."

"Well, it was about these heroic dragonets who stopped a giant war and brought peace to the Queens and-" she stopped herself, "When there was Queens."

"Yeah, and now we have this terrible government, blah blah blah" Dawnriser turned away,

"What's the plan?" Treasure ignored her comment.

"We will stay here for the night, then see what it is like in the morning."

Treasure nodded and knelt down to gulp from the river. The water was cold, but fresh, sending some energy to Treasure's tired limbs.

All the crevices were too small for them to sleep in, each one meant for a dragonet.

Treasure took a spot on the floor, and like last time, she fell asleep immediately.

 _She woke up in the cabin with Melody, who was cooking something by a fire._

 _Curious, she tried to hop over to her, but her limbs were too weak and she fell._

 _Melody got up and looked at her, "My treasure? What happened?"_

 _Expecting a whip or harsh word, for her incompetence, whatever that meant, she covered her head with her wings, shivering._

 _"Little one, you don't have to fear. I'm not gonna hurt you." Melody smiled as she picked up the small Nightwing, and cuddled her close._

 _She was surprised at first, not used to this kind of attention. Then, feeling the warmth of the older dragon's scales, she cuddled in closer, wanting to stay here forever._

 _Bubbling interrupted their hug. Melody quickly unhooked a strange bucket with her talons, and held it out to her._

 _"It's nothing much, but it's all we can afford right now." she smiled._

 _Her eyes looked into the bowl, there were chunks of brown stuff floating in slightly darker water._

 _Curious, she put her talon in, which earned her a burning feeling. She croaked, stepping backwards._

 _"No no no, here. Try this." Melody picked up some snow from outside, and put it in._

 _She still stood back, afraid to get burned again._

 _Melody brought her a cube of the brown stuff, holding it out to her._

 _Curious, she reached for it and put it in her mouth._

 _The flavor seemed to seep into her bones, making her feel much better._

Her real mind remembered it was hungry, and tried to rouse her, but the warmth and softness of the vision kept her captivated.

 _Melody smiled at her, and offered her more "meat". After having more than she could handle, which was only a few chunks because of her tightened belly, she once again fell asleep._

Something was poking her in the waking world, after blinking away the dream, Dawriser's face came into view.

"Come on, it's morning. We better get going." Dawnriser growled and left.

In front of her, was a carcass of some kind. So ravenous, she ate it up, not wondering where it came from, she took another gulp from the river, and stole one last look of the legendary cave of the Dragonets of Destiny. _I know how it feels living underground in cramped spaces,_ She thought subconsciously. _Wait, how do I know how?_

Treasure shook her head, pushing the always confusing thoughts before following Dawnriser


	9. Chapter 9 (Dawnriser)

**This is Dawriser's POV by SereneBird!**

Dawnriser kept Treasure close by her side while they were out exploring their surroundings. She didn't quite trust their environment yet, and she wanted to observe everything first before judging how safe they would be out here.

She wondered if Treasure even trusted or liked her. Trust would be nice, since Dawnriser was working to keep her alive right now. But she wouldn't be surprised if Treasure disliked her, too. _I'm not a likable dragon_ , she admitted to herself. She had never grown up with many friends, and the reason why was obvious.

But then who needed friends in a world like this? If you grew up as an Abjectian, then the only dragon you could ever truly rely on was yourself. It was up to you to work hard, it was up to you to survive. As far as Dawnriser knew, we wasn't quite as common as I.

 _"It won't hurt if you could just be nicer,"_ she remembered her father, Moonstriker, saying. _"It's not a crime, and Dauntless and I would really love to see you make some friends."_

Of course, Dawnriser tried to be nicer to other dragons. And, obviously, she had failed. So she was still kind of a loser with no friends, even if her parents wanted her to be a loser _with_ friends.

She supposed that socializing with other dragons just didn't come naturally for her.

Dawnriser looked up at the sky and spread her wings. She launched herself into the endless space above her, and the wingbeats behind her signaled that Treasure was following her. The sun was still rising, but Dawnriser knew that it wouldn't be long before it was up and clear in the sky.

They rose above the trees and Dawnriser took a look at the craggy peaks that surrounded them. Dawnriser let herself hover in the air for a moment and then she turned her head to catch Treasure staring up at the large mountains.

"I guess they really catch your eye, huh?" Dawnriser asked her.

"What? Oh—I—" Treasure said.

"Never mind," Dawnriser interrupted. "Let's just go see how safe our environment is, and then once we're done with that, we can go over to the nearest town."

"Which is…?" Treasure asked.

"Netuka," Dawnriser answered. She was wary about visiting Netuka, which was located close to what used to be the Scorpion Den. Which meant that Netuka was a Highborn city. Dawnriser, with her dirty scales and her thinner build, would certainly stand out among the well-fed and clean Highborns.

But still, Dawnriser was still hoping that maybe they would be able to find something worth of interest there. Even if it's obvious that neither Dawnriser or Treasure belonged there, it would be worth some stares from Highborns if they could manage to learn about or even get anything useful.

Besides, Dawnriser learned that out of all of the Highborn cities, Netuka was the most open to Abjectians. Which didn't quite mean that Abjectians were welcome with open arms and would most certainly be treated politely by the local residents and more meant that the residents were less rude and less likely to report Abjectian presence in a Highborn city—Lazy, or just not cautious at all? Dawnriser wondered—but it was better than nothing.

Then again, Dawnriser only learned that from one Abjectian swindler who managed to sneak his way into Netuka once and get a few 'good' deals out of the Highborns there, and he left without any Highborn trying to kick him out despite his scraggly, alarmingly thin appearance.

Of course, swindlers aren't the most reliable source of information for Dawnriser. She didn't tend to trust—or really respect—dragons like those, knowing that they used deception to deprive someone of their possessions. So she was wary when she was there in the tavern, listening to the swindler's bizarre story with four other dragons.

The other listeners seemed to believe the story quite easily. It had taken Dawnriser all of her willpower to not roll her eyes whenever they said something like "Wow, I can't believe you got away with that!" or "I wish that I was there to see it! It must've been so cool!"

But if she wanted to go to Netuka now based on what she heard, then clearly Dawnriser must've also believed the story, deep down inside her. Or maybe she just hoped that it was true, because then residents of Netuka would give Dawnriser the closest thing to respect she would ever get from Highborns.

"You think that it's safe?" Treasure asked. Dawnriser detected a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"I hope that it's safe," Dawnriser said, which, granted, wasn't the most comforting thing to say, but it was the truth.

Treasure frowned.

"Come on, we better not waste any time," Dawnriser said.

"Yeah. Right," Treasure said. "I just thought that maybe—well, that you'd be more, I don't know...certain?"

"I can't be certain about everything," Dawnriser shrugged. "So are you going to come with me or not?"

They flew for what felt like an eternity.

They stopped a few times just to catch prey. Unfortunately, it had taken longer than it could have because Treasure's hunting skills were quite rusty, and Dawnriser needed to help her. In the end, they each caught a goat. It was probably one of the most fulfilling meals Dawnriser had in a long time.

Of course, the Highborns would be furious if they ever learned that Dawnriser and Treasure had been hunting on their territory. Not that Dawnriser cared about what the Highborns would think, of course. At least, she didn't think so. So she made sure that she and Treasure ate every last bit of meat on their catches before they continued on their way, hoping that Highborns won't notice bare bones any more than they could notice a half-eaten carcass.

They arrived at Netuka late in the afternoon. The desert sun was blazingly hot. Now Dawnriser had expected that, but it felt as if it was trying to melt her scales and take the moisture out of her body, too.

They were standing in one of the streets of the city. Merchant stalls were set up and Dawnriser could see dragons trying to sell roasted prey, cacti, water, and all of that. And of course, the residents (which mostly consisted of SandWings) were buying everything that they could.

Netuka was certainly grand, that was for sure. It was large and had big and luxurious-looking buildings and the streets were crowded with dragons. So many of the dragons living here had jewelry on them, ranging from gold earrings to silver necklaces to copper tail bands.

She was also pretty sure that she could hear music. She could hear the sound of drums and the mbiras, and whatever else they were playing as well. Her village had very few musical instruments, and Dawnriser was certain that Highborn instruments looked so much better and were much better crafted than any musical instrument Abjectians could make.

"Stay close to me," Dawnriser said to Treasure as they walked through the crowd. "You never know what might happen." Truth be told, she didn't trust the SandWing Highborns here to not accidentally scratch one of them with their tails.

"Alright," Treasure said. She was staring around at the city.

Dawnriser wondered if she noticed the stares that they were receiving from the Highborns right now. Just as she had predicted, the Highborns were now ogling them as if they were two sharks among sheep. Dawnriser's ears pricked as she heard them muttering to each other.

She wished that she could just sink into a shadow and never come out. Growing up, no one had ever given her this much attention, and now that Dawnriser was experiencing it, she thought that she might prefer it that way.

"What are we looking for here?" Treasure whispered.

Dawnriser didn't answer and instead kept going on. To be honest, she didn't know. When she wanted to look for something useful, it was mostly just anything that seemed interesting to her instead of one specific thing, so she didn't really know what they were looking for. But she wasn't about to admit that to her.

And then Dawnriser caught sight of something. She stopped and peered at it closer.

"Dawnriser?" Treasure said.

It was a paper posted to one of the walls of the building. At the top, it said _WANTED —REWARD OFFERED_ and right below that there was a picture of a female MudWing with a torn ear and a scar over her snout.

The rest of the paper put details about the MudWing. Her name was Amber, she was strong and muscular, the second-hatched out of her sib group, last seen two years ago prowling the streets of Serant, and apparently this MudWing had also killed three Highborns and escaped with information that only Highborns should know.

The reward that was being offered was treasure and jewelry, a lifetime supply of any food you want, and…the last one could be negotiated with the dragon who had put up the poster in the first place, who was an IceWing named Plover.

Dawnriser was pretty sure that she was interested.


End file.
